January 28, 2022

Some Immigration Court Hearings Postponed Through Feb. 7, 2022

EOIR Operational Status - "In response to both active cases and community transmission of COVID-19, EOIR postponed certain hearings through February 7, 2022. Generally, the case categories are as follows, but please continue reading for additional information...." [NOTE: This web page updates from time to time, so refresh often.]

January 28, 2022

FY 2023 H-1B Cap Initial Registration Period Opens on March 1

USCIS Email to Stakeholders, Jan. 28, 2022 "U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services today announced that the initial registration period for the fiscal year 2023 H-1B cap will open at noon Eastern on March 1 and run through noon Eastern on March 18, 2022. During this period, prospective petitioners and representatives will be able to complete and submit their registrations using our online H-1B registration system...

January 27, 2022

BIA on Theft, AgFel: Matter of Koat

Matter of Koat, 28 I&N Dec. 450 (BIA 2022) - Section 714.1 of the Iowa Code is divisible with respect to whether a violation of the statute involved theft by taking without consent or theft by fraud or deceit, permitting an Immigration Judge to review the conviction record under a modified categorical approach to determine whether the violation involved aggravated felony theft as defined in section 101(a)(43)(G) of...

January 27, 2022

$1.5M Civil Penalties for I-9 Errors: U.S. v. R&SL Inc. (OCAHO)

U.S. v. R&SL Inc. "Respondent is not liable for any violations in Count I or Count II. As to Count III, Respondent is liable for failure to ensure timely prepare and/or present Forms I-9 for 213 employees. As to Count IV, Respondent is liable for 1,011 violations of failure to ensure proper completion of Section 1, 2, or 3 and 178 violations of back-dating. Respondent is directed to pay civil penalties in the...

January 27, 2022

DHS/DOL Add More H-2B Visas; Too Few, Too Late?

DHS, Jan. 27, 2022 "The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Labor (DOL) today announced the availability of 20,000 additional H-2B temporary nonagricultural worker visas for the first half of fiscal year (FY) 2022. These visas are for U.S. employers that are facing irreparable harm without additional workers and seeking to employ additional workers on or before March 31, 2022. ... The supplemental...

January 26, 2022

NAIJ, FLRA Update (Jan. 26, 2022)

The union's Jan. 25, 2022 press release is here . An interview with NAIJ President Mimi Tsankov is here .

January 26, 2022

Immigration Judges Take Free Speech Case to CA4 (NAIJ v. Neal)

Erika Williams, CNS, Jan. 25, 2022 "A three-judge panel of the Fourth Circuit heard arguments Tuesday over a Trump-era rule that immigration judges say continues to violate their freedom to speak out about government policies on their own time. Immigration judges  challenged a policy  requiring a sub-agency of the U.S. Justice Department, the Executive Office of Immigration Review, to preapprove judges’ requests...

January 26, 2022

Peter Rees Creates NIW Appeals Website

NIW Appeals "Welcome to NIWAppeals.com.  Here you will find an overview of non-precedent decisions published by the Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) in which they apply the Matter of Dhanasar framework to National Interest Waiver (NIW) appeals.  Under  decisions  you will find summaries of the decisions published by the AAO. Decisions can be sorted by occupation, as well as adjudication (sustained/all)....

January 25, 2022

Expert: What to Make of Biden's Defense of Title 42?

Nicole Narea, Vox, Jan. 25, 2022 "President Joe Biden’s administration is defending two of his predecessor’s more inhumane immigration policies in court: pandemic-related border restrictions and family separations. The Department of Justice is actively fighting in federal court for border restrictions that have barred most asylum seekers from entering the US. In separate federal cases, it has argued that the policy...

January 25, 2022

USCIS Updates Guidance on Expedite Requests

USCIS, Jan. 25, 2022 "U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has updated the  USCIS Policy Manual  to reflect new guidance on how we determine whether a case warrants expedited treatment. The new guidance is effective immediately. This update: Clarifies the criteria and circumstances under which we generally consider expedite requests from nonprofit organizations as determined by the Internal Revenue Service;...

January 25, 2022

FLRA (2-1) Continues Effort to Bust Immigration Judges Union

Erich Wagner, GovExec, Jan. 24, 2022 "The Republican majority on the Federal Labor Relations Authority last week issued an “unprecedented” decision to move forward with busting a union of immigration judges, despite the fact that both the union and management at the Justice Department have asked the decision to be withdrawn. In a 2-1 decision , the FLRA rejected requests by both the Justice Department’s Executive...

January 24, 2022

CA7 Slaps the BIA Again: Osmani v. Garland

Osmani v. Garland "In 2019, the Department of Human Services (“DHS”) sought to remove Ilir Osmani, a refugee of the Kosovo War, based on his criminal convictions and crimes of moral turpitude. An Immigration Judge (“IJ”) granted Osmani’s petition for an adjusted status under 8 U.S.C. § 1159(a) and for waiver under 8 U.S.C. § 1159(c). The Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) reversed the IJ’s ruling based on new...

January 24, 2022

Announcement of F/M/J Processing Posts for Applicants Resident in Russia

DOS, Jan. 21, 2022 "Due to the severely limited consular operations in Moscow, the U.S. Department of State has designated multiple posts for processing certain nonimmigrant visa applications from persons resident in Russia.  Under this designation, Russia-based student visa applicants (F and M categories) as well as academic exchange visitors (student, professor, research scholar, short-term scholar, and specialist...

January 24, 2022

Immigrant Visa Fee Exemption for Applicants Previously Refused under Presidential Proclamations 9645 and 9983

DOS, Jan. 19, 2022 "On January 20, 2021, the President issued Presidential Proclamation 10141, titled “Ending Discriminatory Bans on Entry to the United States.”  This Proclamation revoked Presidential Proclamations (P.P.) 9645 and 9983, which had suspended entry into the United States of certain nationals, based on visa type, from Burma, Eritrea, Iran, Kyrgyzstan, Libya, Nigeria, North Korea, Somalia, Sudan, Syria...

January 22, 2022

USCIS Provides Clarifying Guidance for O-1 Petitions with a Focus on STEM Fields

USCIS, Jan. 22, 2022 "U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services today issued policy guidance clarifying how it evaluates evidence to determine eligibility for O-1A nonimmigrants of extraordinary ability, with a focus on petitions filed for individuals in science, technology, engineering, or math (STEM) fields, as well as how USCIS determines whether an O-1 beneficiary’s prospective work is within their area of...

January 22, 2022

USCIS Updates Guidance on National Interest Waivers

USCIS, Jan. 22, 2022 "U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services today announced updated guidance on adjudicating requests for “National Interest Waivers” regarding job offer and labor certification requirements for certain advanced degree professionals and individuals of exceptional ability. This includes discussing the unique considerations for persons with advanced degrees in science, technology, engineering...

January 22, 2022

Advance Copies of DHS COVID-Related Travel Restrictions (Eff. Jan. 22, 2022)

This document is scheduled to be published in the Federal Register on 01/24/2022 - "This Notification announces the decision of the Secretary of Homeland Security (“Secretary”), after consulting with interagency partners, to temporarily restrict travel by certain noncitizens into the United States at land ports of entry, including ferry terminals (“land POEs”) along the United States-Canada...

January 22, 2022

DHS Updates US/Canada/Mexico COVID-Related Travel Restrictions (Jan. 22, 2022)

DHS to Require Non-U.S. Individual Travelers Entering the United States at Land Ports of Entry and Ferry Terminals to be Fully Vaccinated Against COVID-19 "Beginning on January 22, 2022, DHS will require non-U.S. individuals seeking to enter the United States via land ports of entry and ferry terminals at the U.S.-Mexico and U.S.-Canada borders to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19 and provide related proof of vaccination...

January 21, 2022

STEM Expansion News (Jan. 21, 2022)

Here is the Federal Register notice, Update to the Department of Homeland Security STEM Designated Degree Program List. Here is the DHS announcement, DHS Expands Opportunities in U.S. for STEM Professionals Here is the DOS announcement, New Initiatives Further Opportunity for International STEM Students, Scholars and Researchers, U.S. Entities Here is the BridgeUSA announcement, Opportunity for Academic Training...

January 21, 2022

Ending the Remain in Mexico Program: Judging the Boundaries of Executive Discretion

Prof. Peter Margulies, Lawfare, Jan. 20, 2022 "In an important decision on Dec. 13, 2021, in Texas v. Biden (Biden II), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit rejected the Biden administration’s latest bid to end the “ Remain in Mexico ” program (otherwise known as the Migrant Protection Protocols, or MPP). On Dec. 30, the U.S. Department of Justice responded with a petition for certiorari to the U.S....

January 20, 2022

House Hearing on Independent Immigration Courts

For the Rule of Law, An Independent Immigration Court Subcommittee on Immigration and Citizenship Date: Thursday, January 20, 2022 - 02:00pm Witnesses and written testimonies: Karen T. Grisez,  Pro Bono Counsel, Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP, on behalf of the American Bar Association Karen Grisez Written Statement [ PDF ] Elizabeth J. Stevens,  Of Counsel, Poarch Thompson Law, on behalf...

January 20, 2022

CA3 Derivative Citizenship Victory: Jaffal v. Director

Jaffal v. Director "Appellant Imad Jaffal, born in Jordan, seeks a declaration that he is entitled to derivative U.S. citizenship under former 8 U.S.C. § 1432(a). That statute provides that “a child born outside the United States automatically acquires United States citizenship if, while the child is under the age of eighteen, the parent with legal custody of the child is naturalized while that child’s parents...

January 19, 2022

DOS IV Fee Exemption Rule

Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 12 / Wednesday, January 19, 2022 - "The Department of State (Department) amends its regulation governing immigrant visa fees to allow for the exemption from immigrant visa (IV) fees for certain applicants previously denied an immigrant visa pursuant to certain Presidential Proclamations issued by the previous administration and associated technical corrections. DATES: This final rule...

January 19, 2022

CA1 on Categorical Approach: Da Graca v. Garland

Da Graca v. Garland "Aires Daniel Benros Da Graca petitions for review of a decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals (the "Board") affirming his order of removal and denying his requests for cancellation of removal and voluntary departure. Because we find that a conviction under Rhode Island General Laws ("RIGL") § 31-9-1 is not categorically a theft offense, we grant the petition for review...

January 19, 2022

BIA on Niz-Chavez: Matter of Laparra

Matter of Laparra, 28 I&N Dec. 425 (BIA 2022) Interim Decision #4034 "A respondent receives sufficient written notice to support the entry of an in absentia order of removal, even if he or she was served with a noncompliant notice to appear that did not specify the time or place of the hearing, where the respondent was properly served with a statutorily compliant notice of hearing specifying this information...